Post by Exposgm on Jan 29, 2010 1:03:13 GMT -5
Who says I’m too old? Giants 2B Tommy Helms gets better as he ages. Last season was his fourth straight year of batting above .300 with at least 200 hits. The 41 year old not only didn’t miss a single game, but he lead all of TMBL with 702 at bats! The veteran hasn’t missed a game since 1974. His career started out in 1969 when he played in 163 games, having to play in a division tie-breaker. The following year, he went down with a serious injury, missing two months of play. But the rest of the time, you can rely on him a lot more than any other ballplayer!
A singles hitter! Twins hitting machine Greg Gross won the batting title with a .351 average thanks to a 209 hit production. But did you know that Gross’s good friend Johnny Callison is the Twins first base coach? Most of the time, Gross is so happy to see his pal that he stops to have a chat with him. Otherwise, how could you explain his microscopic extra-base production of only 19 doubles and 7 triples? This means he had 183 singles this season alone! But he got beat out by Red Sox 2B Keith Drumright, who had 184 of his own.
We fear him, but… Of the 107 walks Red Sox DH received, only two of them were intentional! It may seem odd, like this, but it’s easy to understand. Would you put an extra man on base to face Darrell Porter?
Don’t waste your time around me! Mets 1B Mike Epstein isn’t a patient guy. He drew only 29 walks this season in 154 games. But “Superjew” (not kidding, that’s his real nickname) knows an easier and faster way to get on base: put your body in front of the ball! Epstein got hit by a pitch 17 times this season!
What league steals most? Despite having four of the top 7 base stealers, the NL settled for the lower portion of the sweeps leaders. It is the AL that had the three top base stealers, and the only two to top the 50 mark.
Give them the red light! Some players shouldn’t even be allowed to steal bases. For instance, Expos 1B Keith Hernandez tried 10 times this year, and was caught all ten times! Despite some better speed, Cards CF Dwayne Murphy was 4/15 in base steal attempts. Slow-footed Tim Wallach went 3 for 14. Dodgers outfielder Warren Cromartie was caught 18 times in 22 tries, while Tommy Helms continued his awful career performance with 3 steals in 19 attempts. Von Joshua of the Mets may have stolen 18 bases, but he lead all of TMBL with 25 caught stealing.
The only one! There were nine pitchers that won 20 or more games this year, but only one of them came from the NL! Expos starter Rick Langford won 21 games despite missing two weeks with a knee injury.
If you can’t make it there, you won’t make it anywhere! New York seems a good place to lose games. The only three pitchers to show 20 or more losses this season played for the Yankees and Mets. Sylvio Martinez (5-20, 6.09) had his toughest season so far while teammate Mike Darr (8-21, 5.03) brought his record to an awful 19-45 after only three seasons. But that’s nothing compared to longtime Yankee pitcher Nolan Ryan. He lead TMBL with 22 losses, the seventh time in his career he topped the 20 plateau there. The “Ryan Express” may actually become one of the quickest to ever reach 300 losses: he’s only 17 away. In fact, Ryan has a clear shot at Cy Young’s all-time record of 316 losses. (TMBL’s Nolan Ryan is also only 9 losses away from the real Ryan’s career mark, with several less seasons played, though).
Who’s the worst? If we had to vote for the worst pitcher, who would it be? We have some good candidates: Eric Rasmussen (3-18, 5.57), Bill Singer (2-14, 6.91), John Martin (2-19, 7.98) and Floyd Bannister (1-13, 6.81). Imagine: two of these guys were on the same team!
The Opponent’s Best Friend! It’s amazing to realize that reliever Hal Dues of the New York Mets managed to cumulate more than 61 innings this season. That was enough time for him to get ripped off for 98 hits, 10 homeruns, 36 walks, an OBA of .362, an 0-6 record and a whopping 8.17 ERA. With “Hal Due” respect, Hal, you sucked!
A tough kid! 20 year old Roy Smith of the Yankees made his first-ever start on September 19 against the Twins. Not particularly known for his endurance, Smith pitched 10 full innings and threw 160 pitches! Sadly for him, he didn’t get the win, but his team still came out ahead in the fourteenth.
Comeback of the Year! Indians ace Doyle Alexander’s late injury may have cost him a shot at the Cy Young. But what a year did he have! Alexander had two less than ordinary seasons these last two years, posting losing records and unusual ERAs for him, but he was more than back on track this season. He went 19-5 with a 2.51 ERA, the best such mark of his career, and threw 14 complete games in only 29 starts. Alexander threw on average 8.03 innings per start. It’s unfortunate that he went down with a rotator cuff injury in early September. The Indians will need to advance deep into the playoffs if he wants to see some action this postseason.
Not a Yankee! Can you name the only of four pitchers to have allowed more than 300 hits this year while not playing on the Yankees? If you answered Cubs veteran Steve Kline, you are correct. Kline was almost joined by teammate Frank Tanana, who allowed 299 hits.
Something in common? What do Buzz Stephen, Jack Jenkins and Nolan Ryan have in common, other than being old righties? They all allowed more homeruns than doubles this season: 19/27 for Jenkins, 27/30 for Stephen and 38/45 for Ryan.
Watch out! Which four pitchers were in double-digits for both hits batsmen and wild pitches? They were: Tim Leary (10 HB, 20 WP), Greg Harris (10/14), Bruce Berenyi (12/12) and David Palmer (12/11).
Best pickoff move! Montreal pitcher Lloyd Allen picked off 6 runners this year, to lead all of TMBL. The best lefty was John Tudor, with 3.
An efficient spot starter! White Sox pitcher Fransisco Barrios played most of his time from the bullpen this year, but had to be used as an emergency starter on four occasions. He responded extremely well, throwing quality starts each time while completing three of those games, including a shutout against the powerful Red Sox. Barrios seems to be at his best when used occasionally. In 1979, he started only 5 games for Chicago, but one of them was a no-hitter!
Does your arm hurt? Nolan Ryan lead TMBL in several pitching categories such as losses, strikeouts, homeruns allowed, walks allowed and hits batsmen. Not surprisingly, he also lead it in pitches thrown: an incredible 4841. That was only 13 more than teammate Lary Sorensen, who had a very different kind of success with 20 wins and an excellent 3.21 ERA. Sorensen also pitched 231 more strikes than Ryan, leading TMBL in that category.
He pinpoints it! Among pitchers who had over a thousand pitches this year, Dan Quisenberry was the one with the highest Strike% at 62.4%. “Quiz” allowed 8 walks this year, the highest total of his career. It is so unusual of him to give up a walk that the last time he walked a batter, he lost the game! Among starters, the best strike percentage belonged to Indians lefty Rick Honeycutt, who threw 61.8% of his pitches for strikes, tying him with Tom Hausman and Rick Langford.
Just a bit outside! Former Phillies pitcher Mario Soto was not as good. When they realized that only 52.6% of his pitches flirted with the strike zone, the Phillies released him. He had allowed 33 walks in only 48 innings on his way to a 0-2 record and 6.19 ERA.
Don’t hire them for fielding lessons! Do you know who lead the league in errors at each position? P Greg Harris (9), C Carlton Fisk (11), 1B Ron Blomberg (17), 2B Jim Morrison (29), Ken Harrelson (42), SS Kevin Collins (55), LF Ken Singleton (15), CF Willie Montanez (21) and RF Reggie Jackson and RF Bobby Bonds (14).
A rare feat! Mets backup catcher Steve Christmas had a bizarre year on defense. Christmas had more passed balls (8 – tied for league lead) than runners thrown out stealing (4).
A lot of patience! Angels RP prospect Joe Strong is 19 years old at the moment. Did you know that the real Joe Strong made his debut on May 11, 2000? He was 38! Tremendous patience has paid off well, and Strong now has his picture show up on his player page.
A singles hitter! Twins hitting machine Greg Gross won the batting title with a .351 average thanks to a 209 hit production. But did you know that Gross’s good friend Johnny Callison is the Twins first base coach? Most of the time, Gross is so happy to see his pal that he stops to have a chat with him. Otherwise, how could you explain his microscopic extra-base production of only 19 doubles and 7 triples? This means he had 183 singles this season alone! But he got beat out by Red Sox 2B Keith Drumright, who had 184 of his own.
We fear him, but… Of the 107 walks Red Sox DH received, only two of them were intentional! It may seem odd, like this, but it’s easy to understand. Would you put an extra man on base to face Darrell Porter?
Don’t waste your time around me! Mets 1B Mike Epstein isn’t a patient guy. He drew only 29 walks this season in 154 games. But “Superjew” (not kidding, that’s his real nickname) knows an easier and faster way to get on base: put your body in front of the ball! Epstein got hit by a pitch 17 times this season!
What league steals most? Despite having four of the top 7 base stealers, the NL settled for the lower portion of the sweeps leaders. It is the AL that had the three top base stealers, and the only two to top the 50 mark.
Give them the red light! Some players shouldn’t even be allowed to steal bases. For instance, Expos 1B Keith Hernandez tried 10 times this year, and was caught all ten times! Despite some better speed, Cards CF Dwayne Murphy was 4/15 in base steal attempts. Slow-footed Tim Wallach went 3 for 14. Dodgers outfielder Warren Cromartie was caught 18 times in 22 tries, while Tommy Helms continued his awful career performance with 3 steals in 19 attempts. Von Joshua of the Mets may have stolen 18 bases, but he lead all of TMBL with 25 caught stealing.
The only one! There were nine pitchers that won 20 or more games this year, but only one of them came from the NL! Expos starter Rick Langford won 21 games despite missing two weeks with a knee injury.
If you can’t make it there, you won’t make it anywhere! New York seems a good place to lose games. The only three pitchers to show 20 or more losses this season played for the Yankees and Mets. Sylvio Martinez (5-20, 6.09) had his toughest season so far while teammate Mike Darr (8-21, 5.03) brought his record to an awful 19-45 after only three seasons. But that’s nothing compared to longtime Yankee pitcher Nolan Ryan. He lead TMBL with 22 losses, the seventh time in his career he topped the 20 plateau there. The “Ryan Express” may actually become one of the quickest to ever reach 300 losses: he’s only 17 away. In fact, Ryan has a clear shot at Cy Young’s all-time record of 316 losses. (TMBL’s Nolan Ryan is also only 9 losses away from the real Ryan’s career mark, with several less seasons played, though).
Who’s the worst? If we had to vote for the worst pitcher, who would it be? We have some good candidates: Eric Rasmussen (3-18, 5.57), Bill Singer (2-14, 6.91), John Martin (2-19, 7.98) and Floyd Bannister (1-13, 6.81). Imagine: two of these guys were on the same team!
The Opponent’s Best Friend! It’s amazing to realize that reliever Hal Dues of the New York Mets managed to cumulate more than 61 innings this season. That was enough time for him to get ripped off for 98 hits, 10 homeruns, 36 walks, an OBA of .362, an 0-6 record and a whopping 8.17 ERA. With “Hal Due” respect, Hal, you sucked!
A tough kid! 20 year old Roy Smith of the Yankees made his first-ever start on September 19 against the Twins. Not particularly known for his endurance, Smith pitched 10 full innings and threw 160 pitches! Sadly for him, he didn’t get the win, but his team still came out ahead in the fourteenth.
Comeback of the Year! Indians ace Doyle Alexander’s late injury may have cost him a shot at the Cy Young. But what a year did he have! Alexander had two less than ordinary seasons these last two years, posting losing records and unusual ERAs for him, but he was more than back on track this season. He went 19-5 with a 2.51 ERA, the best such mark of his career, and threw 14 complete games in only 29 starts. Alexander threw on average 8.03 innings per start. It’s unfortunate that he went down with a rotator cuff injury in early September. The Indians will need to advance deep into the playoffs if he wants to see some action this postseason.
Not a Yankee! Can you name the only of four pitchers to have allowed more than 300 hits this year while not playing on the Yankees? If you answered Cubs veteran Steve Kline, you are correct. Kline was almost joined by teammate Frank Tanana, who allowed 299 hits.
Something in common? What do Buzz Stephen, Jack Jenkins and Nolan Ryan have in common, other than being old righties? They all allowed more homeruns than doubles this season: 19/27 for Jenkins, 27/30 for Stephen and 38/45 for Ryan.
Watch out! Which four pitchers were in double-digits for both hits batsmen and wild pitches? They were: Tim Leary (10 HB, 20 WP), Greg Harris (10/14), Bruce Berenyi (12/12) and David Palmer (12/11).
Best pickoff move! Montreal pitcher Lloyd Allen picked off 6 runners this year, to lead all of TMBL. The best lefty was John Tudor, with 3.
An efficient spot starter! White Sox pitcher Fransisco Barrios played most of his time from the bullpen this year, but had to be used as an emergency starter on four occasions. He responded extremely well, throwing quality starts each time while completing three of those games, including a shutout against the powerful Red Sox. Barrios seems to be at his best when used occasionally. In 1979, he started only 5 games for Chicago, but one of them was a no-hitter!
Does your arm hurt? Nolan Ryan lead TMBL in several pitching categories such as losses, strikeouts, homeruns allowed, walks allowed and hits batsmen. Not surprisingly, he also lead it in pitches thrown: an incredible 4841. That was only 13 more than teammate Lary Sorensen, who had a very different kind of success with 20 wins and an excellent 3.21 ERA. Sorensen also pitched 231 more strikes than Ryan, leading TMBL in that category.
He pinpoints it! Among pitchers who had over a thousand pitches this year, Dan Quisenberry was the one with the highest Strike% at 62.4%. “Quiz” allowed 8 walks this year, the highest total of his career. It is so unusual of him to give up a walk that the last time he walked a batter, he lost the game! Among starters, the best strike percentage belonged to Indians lefty Rick Honeycutt, who threw 61.8% of his pitches for strikes, tying him with Tom Hausman and Rick Langford.
Just a bit outside! Former Phillies pitcher Mario Soto was not as good. When they realized that only 52.6% of his pitches flirted with the strike zone, the Phillies released him. He had allowed 33 walks in only 48 innings on his way to a 0-2 record and 6.19 ERA.
Don’t hire them for fielding lessons! Do you know who lead the league in errors at each position? P Greg Harris (9), C Carlton Fisk (11), 1B Ron Blomberg (17), 2B Jim Morrison (29), Ken Harrelson (42), SS Kevin Collins (55), LF Ken Singleton (15), CF Willie Montanez (21) and RF Reggie Jackson and RF Bobby Bonds (14).
A rare feat! Mets backup catcher Steve Christmas had a bizarre year on defense. Christmas had more passed balls (8 – tied for league lead) than runners thrown out stealing (4).
A lot of patience! Angels RP prospect Joe Strong is 19 years old at the moment. Did you know that the real Joe Strong made his debut on May 11, 2000? He was 38! Tremendous patience has paid off well, and Strong now has his picture show up on his player page.